Sixth form applications are the bane of a Year 11 student’s life; often, their induced stress and apprehension is humbled only by the GCSE exams at the end of our high school careers. Prior to Year 11, one never really wonders about diverse options available to study in the years subsequent, with most not even having a clue what they want for dinner the next day, let alone the schools they wish to attend following their high school departure. As a result, we students end up attending an average of 6 open evenings in less than two weeks! I myself am rather perplexed, hence, I became one of those students who visited various schools to examine their courses, and, of course, I was led straight back to my own school’s, (Oaks Park), open evening. 

The school offered us a goodie bag upon arrival and we were escorted to the new Craig Foster building. There, we saw many different displays such as Art, History, Law and Sociology. Each display was surrounded by teachers and students of that subject, who were invaluable sources of information regarding their areas; their expertise allowed me to finalize my subject choice decisions. I am picking History, English Literature, Sociology, Law (AS) and an EPQ. I found the evening quite enjoyable as I was able to gain a deeper understanding of every subject whilst also being to relax and watch science experiments unfold or listen to a historic tale. It was truly magical. 

However, quite a few people in my year group are those that I would consider rather unappreciative and ludicrous, for they claim that our school’s sixth form is terrible and that they would only attend it if they failed their GCSEs as our school is the only one that takes in people with grade 4’s’. To be quite frank, these students’ opinions are relatively trivial, for our school has one of the best sixth forms in the Redbridge Borough; last year, 72% achieved A*-C grades, with our progress score dominating all other schools (0.15: well above average)! So of course, after seeing these statistics, their mouths hung open and we ended up seeing each other at the school’s open evening. Below is a list of subjects available to study at Oaks Park.


 

* Art and Design

* Drama and Theatre

* French

* Mathematics

* Psychology

* Biology

* Economics

* Further Maths

* Media

* Religious Studies

* Business

* English Literature 

* Geography

* Sociology 

* Construction and Civil Engineering

* Chemistry

* Extended Project (EPQ)

* History 

* Physics

* Computer Science

* Film

* Politics

* Spanish

* Law AS

* A range of BTEC subjects such as Applied Science

As you can see, our school’s choice of options is clearly superior to the majority of, if not all, other schools in England due to the sheer volume of options that our school offers. This fact is even further amplified by the quality of teaching Oaks Park provides, which is stylised to benefit the student; even with our large class sizes, one never feels left out or abandoned. Students truly develop a personal relationship with their teachers which allows them to excel and sprint beyond their limits to reach the Russell Group university courses, including Oxford and Cambridge. 

I absolutely believe that our sixth form is one of the best around, and I hope I’ve convinced you of this as well. Perhaps I’ll see you in September next year!

By Duniya Jan